08/05/2022
KCEANS ATTEND VIRTUAL CONFERENCE HOSTED BY RIVERDALE SCHOOL, NEW YORK
Five Kceans, namely, Stuti Shar, Harsh*ta Manhas, Mrinmay Mehta, Arushi Pandita and A***n Mahajan attended the RS conference hosted by Riverdale School, New York. The theme of the conference was, ‘Democracy: The Voice of the People’. Our Social Science Teacher Deepti Ma’am also attended the conference as teacher delegate.
Takeaways
The conference was really enlightening and was attended by many students from all around the world, We were divided into multiple small groups and were assigned separate breakout rooms in-between the main presentations to discuss on a variety of topics, such as whose voices are or are not heard in a democracy, how education plays a role in political participation and how it affects the way we express ourselves.
One of the main presenters, Miss Ophelia Watahomigie shared insights on the connection between democracy and education through the stories of her tribe, the Havasupai. She talked about life in the Canyon lands and the ‘Tribal Digital Divide’. Her idea that ‘Inclusion is paramount’ was particularly thought provoking and inspiring.
The second keynote speaker, Miss Antoinette Quarshie spoke about how she had grown up in different countries and about her experience of teaching girls from different parts of the world. She spoke about how culture impacts education and elaborated on the importance of storytelling. While speaking, she quoted Bell Hooks- “To educate is the practice of freedom”. The three-hour long conference was immaculately organized. All in all, it was an enriching experience!
Stuti Dhar
The keynote speakers talked about democratic education in which everyone gets the same access to education in which teachers and learners share equal responsibilities. Democratic education models both equality and equity at the same time. They also told us about the importance of sharing stories. Every culture has its own stories which are shared as a means of entertainment. The hosts of the conference also told us that education is a powerful tool that can teach us how to think and how it has been used by some as a tool of indoctrination by teaching specific stories and narratives to impose on students a specific perspective. The issue lies in when we are taught what to think and not how to think. There is a fine line here. The conference was amazing and I really enjoyed being a part of it!
Harsh*ta Manhas
It is an admitted fact that there is an intimate relationship between democracy and education. In a democracy, education is given primacy, for it is pre-requisite for the survival and success of the former. Similarly, education fosters a democratic temper in the minds of people. Democratic values like liberty, equality, fraternity justice, dignity of individual, co-operation, sharing of responsibility etc. are applied to education to make it more effective, meaningful, relevant and useful.
Arushi Pandita
The conference gave us the opportunity to discuss the importance of education and our rights and duties as a citizen. Education serves as a powerful tool which helps us throughout our lives. It helps in building a perfect mind-set of a child. We also learnt the importance of storytelling. We came to know that storytelling is a cultural activity which has moral implications. Storytelling brings language learning alive and creates a participatory and immersive experience that allows us to enjoy hearing the language in a dynamic, sometimes stylistic and entertaining way. It is a unique way for students to develop an understanding, respect and appreciation for other cultures, and can promote a positive attitude to people from different lands, races and religions. Overall the meeting was a success and we learnt many things. I loved to be the part of such an interactive conference.
Mrinmay Mehta
The conference highlighted the key point that democracy is a way of life where problems are solved through discussion, deliberation, persuasion and transaction of views instead of distrust and conflict. It is an order in which every individual gets limitless opportunities to blossom according to his/her potentialities and in which power and responsibilities are shared on a mutual basis.
A***n Mahajan